Taxifolin (TFN) is an important natural compound with antifibrotic activity; however, its pharmacological mechanism is not clear. In this study, our aim is to gain insight into the effects of TFN and its potential mechanisms in unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) animal model using metabolomics approach to identify the metabolic biomarkers and perturbed pathways. Serum metabolomics analysis by UPLC-Q-TOF/MS was carried out to discover the changes in the metabolic profile. It showed that TFN has a significant protective effect on UUO-induced renal fibrosis and a total of 32 potential biomarkers were identified and related to RF progression. Of note, 27 biomarkers were regulated by TFN treatment, which participate in eight metabolic pathways, including phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis, and phenylalanine metabolism. It also showed that metabolomics was a promising strategy to better dissect metabolic characteristics and pharmacological mechanisms of natural compounds by multivariate approach and ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry.

中文翻译：

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通过多变量方法和超高效液相色谱结合基于质谱的代谢组学策略剖析紫杉醇对肾纤维化的功效和代谢特征机制。


紫杉叶素 (TFN) 是一种重要的天然化合物，具有抗纤维化活性；但其药理机制尚不清楚。在这项研究中，我们的目的是利用代谢组学方法来识别代谢生物标志物和扰动途径，深入了解 TFN 在单侧输尿管梗阻 (UUO) 动物模型中的影响及其潜在机制。通过 UPLC-Q-TOF/MS 进行血清代谢组学分析，以发现代谢谱的变化。结果表明，TFN 对 UUO 诱导的肾纤维化具有显着的保护作用，并且总共鉴定了 32 个与 RF 进展相关的潜在生物标志物。值得注意的是，27 种生物标志物受到 TFN 治疗的调节，这些生物标志物参与八种代谢途径，包括苯丙氨酸、酪氨酸和色氨酸生物合成以及苯丙氨酸代谢。它还表明，代谢组学是一种有前途的策略，可以通过多元方法和超高效液相色谱与质谱联用来更好地剖析天然化合物的代谢特征和药理机制。